Judy Wajcman, 2015, ‘Finding Time in a Digital Age’, Pressed for Time: The Acceleration of Life in Digital Capitalism, ch.7.
How we spend our time – “the concept of temporal sovereignty, the ability to choose how you allocate your time”. Judy Wajcman is interested in how we can make more of time. In the search for “positive notions of freedom”. Is a faster busier life a better one? Wajcman discusses in this chapter, which “aspects of life are accelerating, which are slowing down, and for whom”. Contemporary time culture must be considered in relation to the devices and technological developments we engage with every day.She suggests to the reader, ways of “making more time” without having to shut off or ignore our phone, email etc. Instead she proposes a new way of thinking about “how time is allocated and how it is valued”
The first issue she outlines is the way our work and personal lives are becoming increasingly interwoven making it harder to leave work at the office to go home where we switch off and unwind. Of course the severity of this issue effects different industries differently, however, with developing technologies it is difficult to switch off communication received subject: work, once you have physically left a work space for example. Often emails and mobile numbers are intertwined in our personal and professional lives so we can’t see one without the other. Working in the film industry I have found this issue is relevant to me. I have access to my work email through my phone and both work and personal relationships contact me via the one mobile number. I know if there is activity at work when it’s happening even if it’s Friday night and I’m at home trying to unwind. I can’t, knowing that there are new developments with projects where I’m involved. Therefore, the information I’m receiving through my mobile device, is determining how I spend my down time. I have to switch off the device completely if I want to ignore it. But then I ignore my personal life as well by doing so. This is perhaps where people opt for two separate contact numbers, email addresses, different social media accounts. But then aren’t we spending more time checking more applications and accounts?
Wajcman’s discussion around our social perception that time spent productively is time not wasted, is a good introduction or consideration to make before delving into how applications are running the show. The idea that we need to be productive at all times in order to have a life well managed, is this a falsehood? This is a contemporary attitude that favors getting things done in order to be ‘happy’ or ‘fulfilled’.
It’s more than a healthy fear that we have that we might not be spending our time in the most productive way.
A great reading, I thoroughly enjoyed it.